Editorial Manager

The Ada Lovelace Institute (Ada) is looking to hire an Editorial Manager to oversee editorial standards and practice at the Institute, ensuring Ada delivers high-quality, impactful research publications to our various audiences.

Salary: Starting from £40,452 FTE (GBP)

Employment type: Contract. FTC until 31/12/2025.

Hours: Part time (21 hours/3 days per week) – open to discussing other patterns.

Location: Our offices are in London (Farringdon). Staff have the option to work from home for part of the week.

Closing: 09:30 BST, 1 Oct 2024

The role

As Editorial Manager, you will be the expert owner of editorial and writing standards at Ada. Working with the Head of Communications and Content, you will support research teams in creating engaging, impactful publications. You will also own, develop and embed Ada’s editorial processes.

Ada takes a collaborative approach to research, which means the communications team is involved from the very start of a project. You will play an active role in shaping research publications from the outline stage through to the final draft, editing for tone, style, readability and structure, and giving clear and constructive feedback to research teams. You will also be a key contributor to the communications planning process, helping to ensure our content is both timely and effective.

As owner of Ada’s editorial processes and standards, you will ensure they align with Ada’s research pathway, communicate them clearly across the staff team and spot areas for improvement. You will own the Ada style guide – keeping it up to date, making sure research teams are using it, and convening cross-team discussions on particularly challenging conventions or terminology. As part of maintaining standards across the organisation, you will plan regular support and training on writing and editing for research teams.

About you

In a team of communications generalists, you will be an experienced editorial specialist. You have exceptional proofreading and copyediting skills – and are skilled at both zooming in on finer details (such as footnotes and punctuation) and zooming out to approach editing from a strategic, impact-focused lens. You have a knack for communicating complex information in a clear, accessible way and experience tailoring content to a variety of audiences.

You have a proven track record of developing and embedding effective editorial practices across an organisation, leading quality assurance processes, and supporting others with writing or editing.

You have a collaborative working style, a creative approach to problem-solving and a diplomatic and constructive approach to giving feedback. You are enthusiastic about Ada’s mission and committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and to addressing structural inequalities and injustice.

For further information about the role, please download the full job description (PDF).

About us

The Ada Lovelace Institute is an independent research institute funded and incubated by the Nuffield Foundation since 2018. Our mission is to ensure data and artificial intelligence work for people and society. We do this by building evidence and fostering rigorous debate on how data and AI affect people and society.  We recognise the power asymmetries that exist in ethical and legal debates around the development of data-driven technologies and seek to level those asymmetries by convening diverse voices and creating a shared understanding of the ethical issues arising from data and AI. Finally, we seek to define and inform good practice in the design and deployment of AI technologies.

The Institute has emerged as a leading independent voice on the ethical and societal impacts of data and AI. We have built relationships in the public, private and civil society sectors in the UK and internationally. Please find details of our work here.

Our research takes an interconnected approach to issues such as power, social justice, distributional impact and climate change (read our strategy to find out more), and our team have a wide range of expertise that cuts across policy, technology, academia, industry, law and human rights.  We value diversity in background, skills, perspectives and life experiences. As part of the Nuffield Foundation, we are a small team with the practical support of an established organisation that cares for its employees.

Further information and how to apply

This is a part time role (3 days per week), and we are open to considering requests for alternative arrangements (e.g. spreading hours across the week, compressed hours arrangements, job sharing, etc.).

The closing date for applications is 09:30am (BST) on Tuesday 1st October 2024, with a first stage of interviews scheduled to take place on 11th October 2024.

Applications are submitted on the Applied platform.

You will be required to complete some questions as part of this application process, and you are also required to upload an up-to-date copy of your CV. The Applied platform lets you save an application and resume it ahead of submitting before the application deadline.

Should you need to make an application in a different format or require any adjustments as part of the application process, please get in touch with us: recruitment@nuffieldfoundation.org

We are committed to inclusive working practices and during the application process we commit to:

• As a Disability Confident employer, we will offer a guaranteed first stage interview for disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role.
• making any reasonable adjustments – for example providing documents in different formats, arranging for a sign language interpreter for interviews, etc.
• paying for travel costs (and any childcare or care costs) for interviews where in-person attendance is required

Our benefits package includes:

• 28 days holiday per annum and all public holidays (with the option to buy or sell up to 5 days)
• A salary exchange pension scheme that offers employer contributions of up to 11%
• Life assurance scheme
• Family leave policies that provide an enhanced level of pay
• Cycle to work scheme and loans towards season tickets
• Frequent opportunities for learning and development (including options for coaching and mentoring)
• Support with your physical, mental and financial wellbeing including an employee assistance provider, a private GP service, personal health reviews with Bupa, a will and funeral planning service and a staff network of trained Mental Health First Aiders
• Staff peer groups and social networks.